


february 10: a prayer for something far away

by quilfish_swan



Series: Naruto Birthday Twins [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Birthday, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28329645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quilfish_swan/pseuds/quilfish_swan
Summary: "Gramps, how did you know it was my birthday?"Madara stares.After studying the boy for several seconds, the new bit of information sinks in.This Uchiha child has the same birthday as Izuna.
Relationships: Uchiha Izuna & Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Madara & Uchiha Obito
Series: Naruto Birthday Twins [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074689
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54





	february 10: a prayer for something far away

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Birthday of Obito & Izuna](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/731622) by huameidevil. 



> This fic was inspired by the angsty art linked above :) I also started thinking about Naruto characters who share birthdays after I read [this fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22822048).
> 
> First work, Obito & Izuna! (February 10)

There's only one date Madara cares to remember anymore. 

In the dark depths of his cave, he still keeps track of the days. As he scratches marks onto the wall with hands that have withered and paled in his years underground, he feels nothing on the date of his own birth, the date the war ended, the date of Konoha’s founding, not even on the date that he met Hashirama.

Between all the many celebratory occasions he’s forgotten or has tried and failed to forget, only one day is still important to him. 

Today, February tenth. Izuna’s birthday.

His brother loved sweet things. On this day each year, Madara asks White Zetsu to purchase a different treat, something Madara is sure Izuna would have loved had he been able to try it, as well as a single candle. He has never told them why, and they have never asked. 

Each year, Madara eats the treat alone, despite not caring for sweets himself. (He turned his back on the religious traditions of his Clan long ago, but this one act feels like something sacred, something solitary, special.)

But this year, Madara is not alone. This year—

"Hey Gramps, what's that?" 

The Uchiha boy wobbles into his space on legs not fully healed with a stupid, curious look. 

Madara, having been about to extinguish the candle on Izuna's small sponge cake, pauses, and then sighs. 

"Hello, brat."

"Is that... is that a _birthday_ candle?" the boy breathes. "Gramps, how did you know it was my birthday?"

Madara stares. 

"Your…"

Normally, Madara would have an insult waiting on his tongue for moments like these, when the boy says ridiculous things that make no sense. This time, the strangeness of his statement takes Madara by surprise. Nothing comes to mind.

After studying the boy for several seconds, the new bit of information sinks in. 

This Uchiha child has the same birthday as Izuna. 

"Is that for _me_?" The boy comes too close to him, goggling at the treat with a round eye. The single lit candle stuck in the top of the cake casts strange shadows on his scars.

 _Absolutely not,_ Madara thinks, but why can't he say it? 

Madara continues to stare.

It's comical (cruel), really, that this child should have his brother’s birthday. In temperament they are each other's exact opposite. Where Izuna was gentle, this child is obnoxious. Where Izuna was quiet and graceful, the child is loud, clumsy, talentless. And despite being distant clan members, they certainly look nothing alike. 

_(Except for...)_

Madara opens his mouth and closes it again, distracted by the way the candle's flame combined with the unfortunate child's unbridled hope makes his eye shine ten times as bright as it usually does. 

_Their eyes. Their eyes are the same._ Not so much in their shape or shade of nearly-black, but in their sparkle. Their pure, untainted wonder.

This is the first time that Madara has let himself completely form the thought. He’s always known it, though, deep down. He's known it since the first day the boy regained consciousness and looked up at him, nearly six months ago. 

(Of course, Izuna’s eyes are Madara’s now, though Madara always thought they suited Izuna's face much better. They don't look the same as they once did when they belonged to his brother, bright and full of life, when they stare back at Madara in the mirror.) 

_What would you think of me, Dear Izuna, if you could see me now?_ he thinks hollowly, without bothering to ponder the answer. His gut has long forgotten how it feels to twist in guilt, after all.

The boy is rambling on about something to do with his two friends Rin and Baka-kashi and what they did on his birthday two years ago, and how he misses them so much, _even Baka-kashi,_ and that he's definitely going to get back to them, _you'll see._

Before Madara can stop himself, he interrupts. 

"It's for you." 

The boy stops. "Huh?" 

_Huh,_ indeed. Madara is surprised at himself, as well.

"I _said,_ " Madara repeats, "it's for you. The treat." 

The boy blinks, and then his face breaks into a grin as bright as the sun. He beams, disbelieving, and gives a sort of whoop. (Madara vaguely wonders why he does not have his usual urge to roll his eyes.) 

"How did you know, Gramps? Huh? How did you know it was my birthday?" 

Madara does not answer, and instead closes his eyes. He feels tired. He doesn't want to look at the boy's face anymore. 

The child grumbles something about _old_ and _grumpy_ before giggling, and saying, "Thanks, Gramps."

Madara almost flinches at the expression of gratitude. He pries an eyelid open to glance at the boy before closing it again, grunting.

“Eat it before I change my mind.”

He half expects the child to throw himself at him for a hug. (He's grateful when he doesn't.) Instead, the boy snickers, and the soft pattering of bare feet on rock suggests that he's retreating around the corner to the space they've designated as the boy's bedroom.

With eyes shut, Madara hears the boy shout, presumably to the Zetsu, "Oi, look! Gramps got me a birthday present! How did he know it was my birthday? Maybe he can read my mind! _Creepy_!" 

Madara tells himself that perhaps if he wasn't so drained of every last bit of strength, he'd consider stomping into the other room to snatch back the hastily offered gift. As he is, he leaves him be.

Alone once again, Madara sits in silence.

He breathes around the strange, uncomfortable feeling in his chest—not compassion, never compassion, because compassion means the child is no longer a tool, and Madara has every intention of using him before long. Still, the feeling begs to be named. He settles on pity.

Soon, Madara allows the slow, creeping sensation of sleep to overcome him. 

When he dreams, it is of his brother. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)
> 
> I have an idea for a second chapter that will be called "something far away" (also a one-shot, but still about Obito & Izuna), but I may not write it for a while. In the mean time, I'll mark the fic as unfinished.
> 
> This work will be part of a larger series of one-shots about other characters who share birthdays in the Naruto universe. So subscribe to the ["Naruto Birthday Twins" series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074689) if you want updates on that :)


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